Can a flabby postpartum belly be brought back into shape ? I desperately Googled this when I realised that my belly didn´t spring back to shape several months after giving birth. Most of what I found went along these lines: If you´re not a celeb or a possessor of magical genes that flatten the belly days after pregnancy, then you´d better stop sniveling with self-pity and start loving your blubber beautiful new body.
Then I discovered this lady: she decided to take matters her postpartum flab belly in her own hands, and after 2 years of hard work she is the proud possessor of gorgeous abs. I requested her to share her story as an inspiration for me, and hopefully other mothers. This she did, along with sharing her workout, eating and massage tips, in hope that some of you may make it too !
July 2007
I´m a normal girl, a new wife. I´ve got the perfect stomach. Although, be frank, I didn´t know it at that time. It seemed normal, average to me. When I lay down, it was sunken. I could wear the tightest trousers, tops, dresses --- no folds or wrinkles whatsoever. A woman before giving birth doesn´t appreciate this at all. And I didn´t do anything, I didn´t exercise, I was not at all physically active. Since I can remember, I hated physical education classes. I was completely out of condition. I rode the bicycle sporadically, sometimes I went to the mountains. I was underweight due to excessive dieting. I weighed barely 48kg, with the height of 163cm.
August 2007
Pregnancy test shows two stripes. The shock is positive, but due to the influx of emotions I run to three drugstores, because it´s embarrassing to buy in just one --- all of 5 pregnancy tests. All show that I´m pregnant. I went crazy with happiness. I decided to eat.
September 2007. Second month of pregnancy.
I dig through all possible sources of information on pregnancy. I get stuck in forums and I soak in information. I vomit. I feel nauseous, I lose weight.
November 2007. Fourth month of pregnancy
Every day I observe my belly in the mirror. I dream of it growing huge. A small bump appears, like when one is bloated. I manage to put on 3 kg. I buy the smallest size in pregnancy trousers, but I don´t wear them since they flatten my belly.
January 2008, sixth month of pregnancy
It´s growing, and I carry it with pride. I caress it when the little one kicks.
I apply a normal body moisturier on myself, because my skin is itchy and taut. I´m putting on weight. The doctor told me to rein in the eating. I weigh already 10 kg more than before pregnancy. The area around the navel hurts. Pregnancy pants come back into graces.
February 2008, seventh month of pregnancy
I´m beginning to have problems with tying up my shoes, bending down. Belly and back are hurting. Muscles begin to part, the navel ceases to be a hole, becomes a small sticking-out blister.
March 2008. Eighth month of pregnancy
Belly like a balloon. Skin stretched to its limits. Doesn´t let me sleep. Weight... 30 kg more than before pregnancy. I was supposed to be a pretty mama, but I´m an elephant. Everyone cheers me up by saying that I´m looking pretty. Somehow I don´t see that, stuffing rolls of fat into size 44 trousers. I read that after birth my belly will hang like jelly, that I have to accept this fact. I don´t accept it, I worry a bit. I tell myself that mine won´t be like that.
The day of birth the doctor examines my belly. With satisfaction he notes that it´s "big, it developed well". Preparations for a caesarean. For the last time I look at the giant balloon and the smooth, taut skin.
First washing. The midwife uncovers my belly. I glance. I feel hot. It´s huge and sloppy. The real drama begins under the shower. In an upright position it resembles a belly from the 6th month of pregnancy, but looks like a deflated basketball put into a thin plastic bag. It´s disgusting.I observe it each day, but the weeks pass, kilograms slowly fall away, but this flab still hangs. Soft jelly. I touch the skin. I don´t feel anything. After the caesarean I have sensory loss in the entire area from the navel to the pubic mound and in the left side of the hips. Fingers touch something, which doesn´t feel like skin, it´s more like a deflated balloon. I decide to throw away all tops shorter than the waist. All low-waisted trousers. I buy myself tight underpants that go up to the bust, because it gets on my nerves that I feel how my flab bounces around when I walk. And I don´t want to see it. I also buy high-waisted trousers. I promise myself that I will save for a good swimsuit, which will somehow hide it in the summer. I don´t show myself to my husband. I don´t look into the mirror. I take care of my child. Now I´m a mom, I won´t live by my belly.
4 months pass. I lose kilos by breastfeeding. I begin a diet of my own creation. I look through the Internet and choose a set of exercises. My friends laugh at me, that I won´t manage, because I won´t have the time to train. They show me their hanging bellies and tell me that I should make piece wit it, that they tried, that nothing can be done. But I set myself -- I commit myself to 2 years of training. It was worth it. Today I have a better belly than before pregnancy.
Pregnancy is not a sentence. I learned that instead of complaining one must act.
Continued in part two of the story: how you can do it too !
Dietary plan, belly massage, and a fantastically effective abs exercise !
Wait for it tomorrow !
Dietary plan, belly massage, and a fantastically effective abs exercise !
Wait for it tomorrow !
